compromise. >> i have seen a lot of people run for office and say a lot of things and then when they have the burden of holding office and the responsible that goes with it, i've seen them become very sobered very quickly about the challenges that we face domestically and internationally. you know, nobody said it better than mario cuomo when he said you campaign in poetry and you govern in prose. sometimes the poetry can get kind of hot and a little over the top but the prose britons you down to earth. >> and sometimes that over the hot rhetoric and prose and poetry, you do that in tv ads. more than $1 billion spent this campaign season on tv ads that is a record. and christine o'donnell, the tea party stunner, just won that big upset in delaware, raised $850,000. you can look at that that is just since winning that primary. she will be at a live event, we will ten dip into that tonight if we can.

>> thanks so much, john, look forward to t meanwhile, here now "the situation room" with wolf blitzer. >> rick, thanks very much. happening now, more americans than ever are poor and in need. this hour, startling new figures on the economic crisis in the country. we will hear how families are struggling to survive every single day. also, made in america. president obama sets a new goal for selling u.s. products to other countries. will his trade policy create more work at home or will it send jobs overseas? and a papal trip 500 years in the making. the pomp and the controversy surrounding pope benedict's visit with queen elizabeth. i'm wolf blitzer. you are "the situation room." there is powerful new evidence today of how much americans are hurting and why so many voters are so anxious just weeks before the midterm election. the government reports, look at this 43.6 million people were

living below the poverty rate in 2009. that's the highest number ever recorded. and the number of people without health insurance climbed last year for the first time in two decades to 50.7 million. lenders are -- have repossessed more than 95,000 homes in august. that is another record high. although the number of properties entering the foreclosure process dropped. a new attempt today to ease some of the economic pain after months of debate, the senate passed a $42 billion bill designed to increase hiring by small businesses. it is a hard-fought win for the white house. probably the last legislative victory before election day. let's talk about what's going on, what it's he is like to live below the poverty level. for a family of four it means surviving on less than $21,954 a year. poppy harlow of cnn money has been talking to people who have to struggle every single day. she is joining us from copeny

island in new york. it's very depressing, poppy, to hear how folks are struggling and the numbers keep going up and up and up. >> they do wolf, an incredibly hard reality to digest but the reality here for so many americans shall as you said, 44 million americans living in near poverty every single day. the numbers don't begin to tell this story. some of them are your neighbors, some your colleagues, working americans making hardly enough to live on. we spent the afternoon with this woman, ann valdez, lives here in public housing, she has three children and she is fighting her way out of poverty. >> president obama said today the number of people living in america in poverty is unacceptably high. >> this is true. above vert city really very serious. it's very demoralizing. it's made to feel demoralizalid

hurtful. no one wants to live the way we have to give. >> how do you get by every day, ann? what do you live on? >> i live on approximately $5,000 a year. sometimes i have to skip a meal to make sure i can save the money so that my son, brian, has what he needs. and if it wasn't for my sister, my son would not have half of his school is up police or any of his clothing for school. >> joseph, how has it been for you? do you feel like you grew up in poverty? >> yes. but i wasn't deprived aed about childhood, so, i'm very happy. it doesn't matter where you come from. if you have a good childhood, money isn't an issue. >> i gave everything i can to my children. if i had to go without, it's okay, as long as my children had. >> if you could have one message to send to the people watching, what would it be? >> my message would be never judge a book by its cover. never make assumptions.

come outside. meet the people in your community where you live. meet the people in the communities where you work. and meet the people in the communities were you represent. >> see the face of poverty. >> see the face of poverty. >> and, wolf, that's just one story of nearly 44 million americans going through this as we speak. ann has been looking for work since 2005. her unemployment benefits ran out four years ago. she has two years of college experience, can't get a job. i think the most troubling statistic we got in the census report today, wolf, is the fact that the biggest increase we saw in poverty was among children in this country, people under 18 years old. more than 1 million american now living in poverty, wolf, and the concern is as the government runs to you the of money to help pay for people in poverty what is to come? is there worse ahead? >> so many millions of american families surviving simply on food stamps from the federal government. poppy, thanks very much.

another enormous financial burden weighing on millions and millions of the people in the country now, we told you, the number of people without any health insurance has gone up for the first time in two decades. here's our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen. >> reporter: wolf, the number of uninsured americans is now at its highest since 1987. let's take a look at the new numbers that just came out today n 2008 there were 46.3 million uninsured americans that number went up in 2009 to 50.7 million uninsured americans. there are, of course, several reasons for this increase. one of the main ones is that millions of people lost their jobs in 2009 and with those jobs, their employer-related health insurance. of course, as the economy got worse in 2009, fewer people could afford to buy their own health insurance. now, of course health care reform was passed earlier this year and it gets implemented starting this month. it will be interesting to see in 2010 if those numbers go down because of health care reform.

wolf? >> elizabeth cohen, thank you. cnn has learned that president obama will officially make a controversial appointment to he is expected to name harvard professor elizabeth warren as special adviser to help set up a new consumer protection agency. instead of making a formal nomination, he is creating the role especially for her so she can build the agency from scratch. the move is ticking off many republicans, even democrats who say warren is too liberal and lacks government experience. some democrats, as i said, aren't very happy either. our national political correspondent jessica yellin has been spent time work thong story. this appointment will affect a lot of americans? >> yes this agency, wolf is designed for anybody who has a credit card, a car loan, a mortgage t is supposed to give -- create this agency that has broad powers to check on financial firms and make sure that they are protecting consumers and kind of avoid the kind of mortgage crisis we just went through. >> would have been much more

controversial if the president formally would have nominated her to be the director of this agency. >> right, elizabeth warren. elizabeth warren, i have interviewed her many times, talking to her about this more than a year, she came up with the idea, the plan for this very agency, and she is beloved by progressives. but the white house knew that if they nominated her for the job, she would face a fierce senate confirmation it could drag on for lord knows how long. and then, the white house says, she wouldn't have been able to help set up the agency at all. so, this way, she has a role and it avoids a confirmation hearing. >> is anyone happy right now? >> that is the question of the day. the answer is it looks like this could make both sides pretty unhappy. so, progressives are okay with it now because they think that really this is a backdoorway of giving elizabeth warren the director job but avoiding confirmation. i have been on the phone with progressive activists all day who say that if someone else is eventually nominated for the director job, they are going to be very upset and the president will have upset the base. now, moderates in the

president's own party, like chris dodd, they are saying the president should nominate a director fast so it doesn't look like he is skirting the senate approval process. eventually, the president going to have to name warn, which will upset one side, or not name warn which will upset progressives it looks like he has kicked that can down the road but it will be a fight someday. >> saying progressives, meaning liberals out there who support her and really want herd to be formally nominated? >> yes, ma'am. >> thanks very much, jessica, for that. a doctor shot inside one of the most prestigious hospitals in the nation, one of our top stories. and you will find out why former president jimmy carter is pointing a direct finger of blame at the late senator ted kennedy. stay with us. you are "the situation room."

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let's go to jack. he has got "the cafferty file" right now. jack? >> most americans, wolf, think united states is stuck in a recession and they don't think this economy is going to improve any time soon. a new "usa today"/gallup poll he shows 82% of those surveyed say the economy is still in a recession. 54% expect things to be the same or worse in a year. that number is up sharply from 35% who felt that way a year ago. 45% say the economy will be better or fully recovered in a

year. that number is down from 65% a year ago. the poll shows americans' negativity about the economy has grown, with republican, independents and democrats all sounding more pessimistic about the future of the economy than they did a year ago. and you don't have to look very far for the reasons either, although the economy has posted four consecutive quarters of growth, the growth has been sluggish and inconsistent and weak. then there is the continuing high unemployment rate, close to 10%, and soaring underemployment. some say it is close to double that. as we told you yesterday in the cafferty file, above vert city now reaching record levels not seen in decades in this country. all this goes to show why americans see the economy as the most important problem facing the country. it's the economy, stupid. and the most important issue in the midterm elections. no doubt, president obama and the democrats facing an uphill battle to prove to the voters ahead of those midterms that the billions and billions of dollars

spent to help jump start the economy are actually doing that. so, here's the question. are we stuck in a recession that's not going to end any time soon? go to cnn.com/cav te nchlt nchn post a comment. congress will extend tax cuts for the middle class but nancy pelosi is getting pushback within her own party, some members facing tough re-election fights the 31 house democrats are now signing with republican, urging the speaker to extend the bush e.r.a. tax breaks for people of all income levels, including the wealthy. house republican leader john boehner says pelosi should allow an up or down vote on extending all tax cuts. the new york time also a poll last evening asking if it was a good idea or bad idea for the obama proposal to let the tax cuts for the wealthy, those

earning more than $250,000 expire. 53% thought it was a good idea. 38% thought it was a bad idea. although i take it both sides think they have politics on their side. >> well, you know, democrats shall and rightly so, are glomming onto those polls saying, look, the public really supports us in this, they care about tax cuts for the middle class. they don't care about extending tax cuts for the wealthy. democratic pollster jeff guerin sent a memo to democrats saying turn this into an issue of priority and we say our priorities are with the middle class, not the wealthy. but the republicans i talk to are scratching their heads saying why in the world would democrats talk about tax increases for anyone, even if it's the wealthy, this close to an election? they think it is right in their wheel house and they are happy of the argument. >> because if you don't extend the tax rates for the wealthiest 2 or 3%, you increase the national debt by $700 billion

over the next ten years that is the counterargument. >> that is long-term. i think you have to distinguish between the national polls and what actually is going on in some districts, where a tax increase is going to be unpopular for a conservative democrat. that's why 31 democrats in the house signed that letter yesterday. and what they pointed out is that a third of the people who would be affected by this tax increase are small business owners. and they said, look, you know, maybe only 3% of the population is paying this tax but they account for 25% of national consumption and con sump sex what drives this economy. so you know, there are these counter arguments out there for some democrats and some districts make it very difficult. i think you feel there is no majority for anything. >> i don't think there is. if you were to talk to people in the senate and say, okay, what's going to pass and what's not going to pass, you will have mitch mcconnell, who says let's extend the tax cuts for everyone, harry reid who says let's just do it for the middle class, folks i talked to, there aren't the votes for either of those measures so that you could

wind up having this in a -- talking about -- >> let's be precise if they don't pass legislation before january 1st the tax rates will go up for everyone. >> wolf, i think it is a slamdunk guarantee that they will go something, the middle class tax cut before january 1. i don't think taxes are going to go up on the middle class. i think there are a lot of other issues that will be very, very contentious. >> you have the deficit commission that's got a report. >> in december. >> in december. and that may play into this a little bit because, don't forget, there is a def kit issue. and again it is an issue the democrats are trying to use against the republicans. if you care so much -- >> who wins going into november 2ed on on this issue, no legislation passed, no decision, who wins, the democrat or the republicans? >> the national polls certainly suggest this is, in general, a good issue for democrats even though in some districts, it's not. but there is one other thing about it, this is taking tension away from tuesday night and the tea party and do you really want to lose that argument as a democrat? don't want to keep that out on the front page, civil war?

extremists, we got to man the barricades, the barbarians are coming? if you are a democrat, don't you want to argue about that, too? >> the republicans are talking about civil war in the democratic party because the democrats don't agree on this tax cut issue. it is good for most democrats. >> i don't think it is a game-changer though for the midterm elections. >> i think that's right. >> i don't think it is a game-changer. >> the game changer is jobs, jobs, jobs, no increase in jobs. >> another jobs report before the election. >> a huge issue, guys, thanks very much. we are monitoring some of the other top stories out there, including the latest on a raging wildfire in southern california, threatening hundreds of homes and prompting new evacuation. stand by. and will president obama's controversial trade policy end up creating more work at home or will it send jobs overseas? we are dicking deeper. we are digging deeper. [ male ] marie callender's invites you back to lunch,

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fredricks whitfield is monitoring some of the other top stories in the situation right now. hi, fred what is going on? >> hi had, wolf, hi, everyone. police just identified the suspect in a shooting at johns hopkins university, hospital in baltimore, maryland. police say paul warn partis shot a doctor after receiving bad

news about his doctor's condition. the doctor's injure police nonlife threatening. authorities say partis then fatally shot his mother before killing himself. and tropical storm karl is now a hurricane in the gulf of mexico. the category 1 system could intensify before reaching the mexican coastline. it is forecast to make landfall along the coast tomorrow night. hurricane warnings are in effect for parts of the region. and officials say a raging wildfire in southern california is now 65% contained. the fire, which has burned more than 8,000 acres and destroyed at least one home is prompting evacuation as well. another 250 structures are being threatened. the governor has declared a state of emergency. and the mother of the late pop star michael jackson has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company behind his planned comeback tour in the uk. in the suit, katherine jackson claims that aeg live was responsible for her son's health because it hired and directed

his doctor, conrad murray. murray is facing an involuntary manslaughter charge in jackson's 2009 death. aeg has not commented on the case. wolf? >> sure this is not the last of it. there will be much more. thanks very much for that fred. with the united states' economy down in the dumps, why is the united states' government now loaning money to other countries? and pope benedict lands in london it is an historic visit for the catholic church and the people of england and it is causing some major controversy.

you're "the situation room" a new study reveals a disturbing data about the rising use of illegal drugs in america. jeanne meserve is investigating. candidates running for political office, some recruited from the streets, now some democrats allege they are part of a major gop sham. i'm wolf blitzer. you're "the situation room." the closer we get to

election day the more president obama is talking about unemployment. today, he is zeroing in on jobs and products made in america. but critics say there's a flaw in his strategy that could actually put americans to out of work. brian todd has been looking into that for us. what have you been finding out? >> we note pressure the president is under to create more jobs, he is looking for ways to do that one of the key ideas is to boost exports, but one of the president's proposals for doing that is getting some real brushback. >> america is going to bat as a stronger partner and a better advocate for our businesses abroad. >> reporter: president's goal, get american exports to double in just five years with government help, but one controversial part, more trade pacts. president obama is hoping to get congress to approve a free trade with colombia and south korea, but not everyone is sold that free trade means more jobs. here's how the debate shapes up. on one side, i've got a new study trumpeted by unions and consumer advocates saying this -- >> the net impact of the

u.s./korea and u.s./colombia trade deals is expected to be negative, both for the u.s. trade deficit and for u.s. jobs. >> reporter: the study from the group public citizen claims that when america has signed free trade agreement, the trade gap has only gotten worse faster, making unemployment even worse. >> over the last decade, the u.s. has lost nearly 5 million manufacturing jobs. nafta and trade agreements like the world trade organization as well played a key role in aggravating these global imbalances. >> reporter: on the other side, the u.s. chamber of commerce, which hopes trade deals with mean more, sports of u.s. goo goods. they say the public citizens study is flawed. trade agreements create a lot of new opportunities and a lot of new jobs. on balance, we have a net plus, but we are not very good at helping those who are disadvantaged and lose their jobs and because of that, this is a big backlash. >> reporter: also proposed by

the president, an increase in loans to foreign companies to buy american products, like helping a foreign airline buy a boeing, but does that amount to u.s. taxpayers helping foreign airlines compete against american carriers? >> there is a net gain for doing this and this is a way of catching up to what other countries are already doing. >> reporter: the president is trying to get a free trade deal with south korea done by november when he is going there for a summit, but the administration may already have its hands full during the final push of a campaign season focused on whether the democrats have done enough to create jobs. wolf? >> amidst this the treasury secretary on capitol hill today, timothy geithner, and there was criticism on his strategy, how tough the u.s. should actually get with china. >> that is right. china is a key component of all of this geithner moving closer to getting tougher, not officially closer yet. he did say that china's currency is undervalued but not going so far to say they are currency

manipulator manipulators. not yet, they are coming. >> thanks, brian. a lot of questions about the president's trade policy right now and whether it will protect america's interests. joining us now, fred hockburg, president of the import export bank of the united states. thanks for coming in. >> thanks to having me, wolf. >> you saw that article that was written in "forbes" magazine. among other things, he wrote this an article about the president, what he he thinks. the president's actions, he says, are so bizarre that they mystify his critics and supporters alike. the administration supports offshore drilling but drilling off the shores of brazil, not so the oil ends up in the united states. he is funding brazilian exploration so that the oil can stay in brazil. now, the export/import bank is involved in this. what is going on here? >> what the export/import bank does, wolf, we make loans so that american companies can sell products overseas. we make loans that sell american products, create american jobs, whether they be in brazil, mexico, india, throughout the

world. sometime they use an oil ex-sport racial, sometimes using it to build railroad station, airports, the full range of goods and services. >> so the purpose is to get these foreign companies to buy u.s. products to increase american ex-sports and create jobs, but there's no guarantee that they are going to do that these foreign countries, right? >> the only way -- the loans we make stay in america. they buy goods, they buy services, they buy -- in the case of offshore drilling, helicopters, boats, drill bits, the whole range of services, they buy them here and we ship those goods overseas. if we sell them $2 billion worth of product, that creates about 15,000 jobs in america. this is about creating jobs here. and you are a firm believer in what's called free trade, the nafta agreements, cafta. >> free trade, worldwide, this year become 600 free trade agreements are going to be signed throughout the entire world from latin america, between latin american countries, latin american africa, asia, different

countries. the world is increasingly dropping trade barriers to increase the flow of trade. >> but the concern is that american jobs are being exported, that states like ohio or michigan are losing manufacturing jobs because the united states, in effect is helping these other countries take these manufacturing jobs. >> yeah, i don't see it that way. first of all, what is hard for people to remember, we are the largest manufacturer of goods and services in the entire world. >> we have lost a lot of jobs. >> we may have lost a lot of jobs, we make more goods and more services, more than china, more than germany, we don't expert enough. we make more goods, make more service. they export faster than we are. what we make is capital goods. we make farm and commodities, we export a lot of commodity, we export airplanes, farm equipment, construction equipment, power plants, import television, ties, clothing, sneakers, stuff like that. >> you saw the studies that came out by public citizen, a left-leaning group, which said the countries which we have free trade agreements, they are

hurting us more than the countries that we don't have these free trade agreements w. >> i have seen the reverse. i have seen the reverse. that in countries where we actually have free trade, ultimately trade improves, trade increases a greater flow of goods and service. increasin increasingly, wolf, we are seeing manufacturing goods, components from one country, assembled in another country and the manufacturing has been completed. the trade barriers and the tariffs simply impede what business is doing. as a businessman, i see that happening all over the world. >> but meanwhile, our trade deficit increases and increases. you wrote a piece in huffing ton post this week where you said, you know what that is not that important this number of the trade deficit. but if you tell union workers and others, it is pretty important -- >> no, what's important, wolf, is the exports. exports are up 18% since january. 18%. i can't think of another time in u.s. history where exports have are grown so much. >> but imports have grown even more. >> but what we are going to do to fix exports dork to fix imports are entirely separate

things. exports, we have to get u.s. companies out there bidding for jobs. 1% of u.s. companies export. we have got to get more companies out there selling their goods and services. >> there was one comment on huffing ton post reacting to your article. what a rosie picture, our trade imbalances on the incredible one-sided trade agreements we have destroyed our manufacturing base and are exporting jobs much faster than products. >> we are -- well, we have gone through a bad period there is no doubt about t we have gone through a period, not known how to create jobs, probably for 20 years in this country. we are now reversing it the national export initiative today, the president announced is a push, a push for exports, a push for manufacturing, we just helped ford motor company with as 250 million loan to export ford taurus and, blowerers to mexico excanada and at rest of the world. we are, for the first time, make cars the world wants to buy. we are making airplanes, boeing is still the world leader of aircraft. we make better construction

equipment, four major tractor and construction companies in the world, three of them are american, made here. so, the problem we see in our daily lives consumer products, as i said, televisions, clothing is all imported. what we are selling, the infrastructure that powers the world is american goods and services. >> fred hock berg, chairman and president of the ex-sport/import bank of the united states. good luck. >> thank you. thanks, wolf. there may be some sputtering going on right now in the obama administration's efforts to jump start middle east peace talks. and a high-speed chase leads it a beating by police all captured on videotape. stand by for the shocking images from dallas. some of our top stories, just ahead. my joints ache so bad, i wake up in pain every day. i want to know why. i want to know why my hair is falling out. how did this happen?

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fredericawhitfield is monitoring top stori stories "t situation room" right now half is going on? >> middle east peace talks have hit a potential roadblock, secretary of state hillary clinton is proposing that israel extend the moratorium for another three months on construction. the palestinians are threatening to stop the talk it is that doesn't happen. reuters report that is arab league is now pack backing palestinians' refusal. the moratorium is scheduled to end next week. and new concerns about the virus that causes aids. scientists at the university of arizona and tulane university have found that an ancestor of the virus which infects monk skis thousands of years older than previously believed and

therefore, isn't likely to stop killing humans in the near future much the research appears in tomorrow's issue of the journal "science". and this 19th century painting is now the subject of a dramatic new york mystery. according to the "new york times," the half-million dollar portrait of a girl disappeared, then resurfaced this week with. a doorman says he found the artwork in the bushes outside his building. police believe his story but the bigger question about initially happened to it remains unanswered. look at this don't adjust your television set. measures just 33 inches from hind to foot it is the world's smallest cow. and it is just one of many unusual characters that made it into the 2011 edition of the "guinness book of world records" released today. take a look at this picture of the longest dog tongue. who knew there would be a record for something like this. and the largest collection of

smurf memorabilia. so, a little bit of everything for just about everyone, wolf. >> these people have a lot of free time, i guess, to check all that stuff out. all right. look at that. thanks very much. thank you, fred. a startling new report shows that above vert city on the rise in the united states of america. we are going to show you the conditions some people are living in not very far from the white house. and former president jimmy carter points blame at the late senator ted kennedy over health care. you are going to want to hear what he is saying. you are in "the situation room." this site has a should i try priceline instead? >> no it's a sale. nothing beats a sale! wrong move! you.

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strategy session. joining us are two cnn political contributors, democratic james carville, the republican, alex cast spell lan knows. james, i will start with you. jimmy carter, the former president in a new interview with "60 minutes" is reviewing history and he is going after the late senator ted kennedy for killing health care reform back when jimmy carter was president. listen to the former president. >> we would have had comprehensive health care now had it not been for kennedy's blocking the legislation i proposed in 1978 or '79. it was his fault. ted kennedy killed the bill. >> pretty strong words. you remember those days. he blames ted kennedy because he was competing for the democratic presidential nomination in 1980 and he said kennedy simply did notment with to give jimmy cartary victory. >> that is odd. what i have learned in politics

is we think there is this bitter innocence general elections between republicans and democrats. the truth of the matter is these primaries can be even more bitter than the general elections. i don't think that president obama president carter is over the fact that senator kennedy challenged him 30 years ago. it is a remarkable piece of history. and it is going to be interesting to see the reporting on that and what really -- how it really transpired back in 1978, '79. i think had is a hangover from a primary challenge. >> does underscore the bitterness in these primaries, but senator kennedy, alex, he is not around to give his side of the story. >> seems a bit graceless for president carter to rehabilitate himself as his image as president this way. you know, he is 85 years old out there and we still see him had building houses, i guess when you are a less-than-successful president, maybe they take away your pension, but it is unfortunate. i think important thing about

jimmy carter today, he is still relevant, even in this election, in the sense that the contrast between carter and reagan may be give us a view into the next election. carter said america was in a funk in a malaise, that our best work to have learn to live with less and share scarcity a very depressing message, and dark message. that, to some degree, is a little bit what we are hearing from the obama administration now. reagan's message was that america has a rendezvous with destiny, we can do everything, that was a very yes we can message. that was obama's message as candidate. he was reagan then, carter now. >> you keep hearing that from republicans, james, that president obama is another jimmy carter. >> you know, you hear that and keep saying, god, you blaming bush, talking about bush, jimmy carter was president in the '70s. bush was president two years ago. kind of hilarious that you ask about something that happened in 1980 and we figure a way, let's connect to -- well, as long as you are blaming carter, we will

blame bush. >> i was trying to be helpful. >> right. i got that. >> obama something as a candidate he has not had as president and that is that sense of optimism and what happened to the yes we can? >> do you believe it's possible, james that christine o'donnell, the republican senate nominee in delaware can win, can beat the democratic candidate, chris koons, on november 2nd? >> you know, she is a derelict, best i can see. she doesn't pay her taxes, doesn't pay her mortgage, doesn't pay her student loans. you know, maybe people -- maybe this tide is so big that, you know, i will say one thing. he is against taxes, she is against paying them. and maybe this tide is so big it will take her through but it is going to be interesting to see. >> is answer, yes, you think she can win? >> look, i don't taking any for granted this cycle. you got jan brewer, 18 seconds, can't think of anything to say, sharron angle who thinks it is wrong to wear black football jerseys.

look, i said on this program that edward bennett williams said you could indict a ham sandwich. the republicans are trying to elect some ham sandwiches to out there. >> james if christine did that bad on tax, maybe she could take charlie rangel's job? >> maybe so. maybe so. it is very tough for her to win in delaware, james, i think you are right about that. she is -- in delaware there are 300,000 reg jirsd democrats, only 182,000 republicans. republicans are going to need huge turnout and a slice into the independent vote. here's the good news. recent turnout in these primaries, democrat turnout was 12%. republican turnout was in the low 3 to 0s, 32%. so, there is intensity on the republican side. >> how do you energize the democratic base, get them enthusiastic? so far, james, the republicans are showing all the enthusiasm?

>> that is absolutely true f that enthusiasm gap doesn't close, look, it could be a very, very bad night for democrats. i -- i can't deny it. i think if they tried and putting the vice president to out there, but there has to be some kind of sense that democrats get out and vote and it is absolutely true that more republicans vote in these primaries and democrats the first time since 1930 and, you know, the democrats are going to have to do something to excite their people between now and november. >> and these personal attacks sometimes whether they are from republicans or democrats, they really motivate these outsider candidates and their bases. so, that actually sometimes helps. >> we know joe biden -- >> people are motivated by somebody welching on their mortgage or welching on their student loan, more power to them. that is just a fact. i understand it. >> charlie rangel -- >> i agree, charlie had tax issues. >> we know biden is heading back to delaware to help democratic candidate, chris coons, we will see how that works out.

guys, thanks very much. jack cafferty is asking, are we stuck in a recession that won't end any time soon? jack and your e-mail coming up. the pope begins an historic trip to england, talking about a very sensitive issue, now some of his critics are pouncing. and what you vote for a tax at this si driving former homeless man who does spiritual healinging on the side? there may be more to the crop of unusual recruits on the ballot in arizona. everythinge doelin it's a yea 50 milpromise. there may be more to the crop of unusual recruits on the ballot in arizona. intee and /7 roaide assiance. beusen y ce the st bif, faaronar oh. about what? uh, they don't really think you're an exchange student. what? they think you're a businessman, using our house to meet new clients in china.

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just word of a tornado warning in new york city. back to fred. fred, what is the national weather service saying? >> yeah, well, you don't hear that paired up the big apple and a tornado warning. the national weather service is saying that there is a tornado warning in effect right now as you look at the live pictures, and pretty ominous looking of the skyline there of new york. a warning for queens county in the southeast portion of new york as well as kings county of most notably known as the brooklyn area. what is also coming with the tornado warning is the threat of thunderstorms for the area, and of course, a reminder to people of exactly what to do if a

tornado comes in your area, and you need to try to take cover and go to a closed room, and anywhere away from windows, and i know that is tough to do in new york city, but surely maybe a public restroom or whether it be a powder room in a building, those are the areas that you need to take cover, because of course, we are dealing with the metropolitan area, and there would likely be a lot of glass damaged if indeed a tornado warning becomes something much more severe than that. a tornado in and of itself, so for now, the warning is being doled out from the national weather service to give people a head's up to take cover and be careful in the manhattan area. hard to believe, isn't it, wolf? >> well, you don't often hear about a tornado warning in new york city. thank you, fred. if you get more pictures let us know. >> we will stay in new york, and jack cafferty is there with the cafferty file. pretty ominous situation, jack? >> well, it has calmed down a

lot. 15 minutes ago we had a rock 'n' roll show going on with one of the hot dog carts, the wind ripped the umbrella off of the top of it and we had lightning and wind and people scurrying around trying to get out of the way and a violent thunderstorm cell that passed right over the southwest corner of central park and right out of the window from time warner center, and this whole newsroom was lined up looking out of the window and we were all grateful to be inside and that is some of the doubl double-paned glass between us and the elements, and it has passed to the queens and/or brooklyn. also, a correction, wolf. when we talked about the question if we were stuck in a recession that won't end soon, we had a gallup poll, and the graphic up was wrong, and the graphic said that people feel better about the recession than a year ago and it should have indicated that people feel worse about the recession than they do a year ago. my apologies for that. here is the e-mail, it appears we are, because we have come to

the place where the obama administration is touting slight declines in first-time jobless claims as a sign of improving economy and not the statistic that matters increase in private sector jobs. instead, we hear the reports that jobs are growing in d.c., great, more bureaucrats to tell us what to do, and when to do it and how to do it. bud writes from washington, yes, we are, history lesson, fdr threw everything including the kitchen sink at the depression for ten years, ten years, and what finally got us out of the ditch? world war ii. that is a fact, jack. rick writes, no, we are stuck in a depression with no end in sight, and the politicians won't call it what it really is a bonafide depression. maybe not as bad as the great depression, but a depression nonetheless, and the reason it has no end in sight is because there are no jobs and little prospect of any being created. and jeff says, yes, as long as we ship the jobs overseas and employee the illegal workers at

lower wages, it will continue until doomsday. and olga in texas says that most of us are afraid pure and simple. with fear, we tend not to buy or borrow or lend or support or grow, and when you don't move, even the body ats trophiy -- atrophies which explains why we are inert. and this one, while we are seemingly stuck in the recession for the time being, please remember that it is simply resemblings dieting, it look a long time to put the weight on, so if you stick to the program, it will gradually come off. if you want to read more go to my blog at jack cafferty.com. do i get more for doing the weather? >> no. >> i thought it didn't hurt to ask. >> well, stunning drug use on the rise in the united states. we will look at why.

and disturbing outcome to a high-speed police chase. we will show you what happened. [ woman announcing ] beneful incredibites. another healthful, flavorful beneful. everything you need to stretch out on long trips. residence inn. ♪ everything you need to stay balanced on long trips. residence inn. to everyone who wants to go to college and everyone who started college

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between tens of thousands of people who gathered here to share mass with the pope. they were thrilled, this crowd, to have the opportunity to spend that time in his presence and speaking to them, none of them seemed to be at all concerned by the problems, the shadow that hangs over the church, especially regarding the child sex scandal. the pope's day began earlier in ed denberg, and arriving from rome, he was taken by prince philip to royal house where he was officially welcomed by the queen. there he gave his opening address or the first address on the formal state visit. >> as we reflect on the suffering of the past century, let us not forget how the exclusion of god, religion, and virtue of public life leads to an ultimate truncated vision of man and society and to a person

and the destiny. >> reporter: the pope spoke about the country's christian traditions and the role they played in building britain today, but he also spoke about what he calls a growing form of secularism which no longer tolerates the traditions. because it was a state visit, he was speaking to a country of not just 6 million catholics, but to allbry tans. he did not avoid the child sex scandal as an issue, and there fact, he addressed it. he spoke critically of the church's lack of vigilance in detecting the problem, and also lack of speed in responding to it more decisively. he said that this is a time of great humility for the church, because that issue remains at the core of opposition to those who believe that the pope does not deserve the full honor of a state visit, and in those words in and of themselves are unlikely to appease the anger. phil black, cnn, glasgow.

you are in "the situation room." happening now, shocking new evidence of how much pain americans are are feeling in the economy right now. 14% of the population living in poverty. we are going to show you what it is like for some, and not very far away from the white house. republicans are accused of recruiting people across the street to run as third party candidates in arizona. is there really a ploy to siphon votes away from the democrats? and a high-speed chase ends in a beating caught on videotape, but it may not be the end for officers involved. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, and you are in i'm wolf blitzer, and you are in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com 1 of 7 americans living in poverty. stunning new proof of just how rough the economy has been for so many people. take a look at this. government figures out today show the nation's poverty rate jumped to 14.3% last year, the

highest level in a decade in and a half. and more than 43 million americans were in need, and that is the highest number in half a century of record keeping. so who is living in poverty? the government puts the threshold at 2$29,359 for a family of four. and the white house claims that the numbers would be grim without the stimulus. and i am quoting the white house, because of the recovery act and many other programs, millions of americans were kept out of poverty last year. that is a statement from the president. but not far from reality the poverty numbers are all too clear. our white house correspondent ed henry got a firsthand look at the situation and ed not far from the north lawn of the white house to see real poverty in the nation's capital. >> that is right, wolf. what is fascinating the economic debate playing out on the white house and the hill, and stuck on

whether tax cuts should go to the people making under $250,000 or richer people making over $250,000 and beyond. and yet, i only had to go a few blocks from here to find people making far, far less. i spoke to two people who are unployed and living off of social security benefits and getting a few hundred a month and getting help from s.o.m.e., which stands for so others might eat, and it is also low-cost housing to help people get back on their feet. i spoke to two people who said that the whole economic debate in washington is missing a crisis occurring a few blocks from here. >> reporter: we all heard the awful statistics that say that the poverty rate in america is now 14%, and about 43 million people are living in poverty the worst level since 1965. we wanted to get beyond the statistics so we went less than a mile from the white house and we have two people living on $200 a month from social security and both out of work.

i want to talk to you, first, brian, behind the statistics, what is it like to live in poverty in america right now. >> well, first off, it is very demoralizing and a perfect lesson in humility, and the biggest adjustment i had a problem with in the beginning is being able to separate your wants from your needs. >> reporter: and elisa, president obama on friday at a news conference talked about the poverty agenda, and says he wants to help people like you and what do you want him to know about what it is like to live in poverty right now? >> right now, it is hard to find permanent housing, apartments, on just the income that we made. to me, if we had more federal, you know, like hud housing or whatever for those who are really trying, you know, that really need, really need that extra help, it would make it better. >> reporter: well, there is a debate going on, brian, in washington where the president has been debating with the

republicans on capitol hill about tax cuts and whether the tax cuts should go to the people, families making under $250,000 a year or families making above $250,000 and whether there are tax cult cut the rich as well, a when you hear a debate like that playing out a mile from your house, what do you think? >> well, it is foreign for me. i wish i could fall in either one of those categories, and the hope is that i got the tax cut or not. i mean, it just doesn't apply to me at all. it is sad. >> reporter: now, when april ryan of the radio asked the president at the news conference last friday about the president's national agenda, he said you can give federal help and target communities burk that is only going to help in the short term, but the long-term, the only solution is job growth. and this is something that the president is working on for 20 months, and he, himself, has said it is painfully slow to get the job growth going, and there

are people not far from the white house suffering through it, wolf. >> it is hard to believe that the numbers are that high in the united states of america. 40 million americans rely on government food stamps simply to eat every day. thank you, ed henley. today, the white house passed a measure aimed at giving small businesses a shot in the arm. they say it can create half a million new jobs by making credit available to small businesses. only two republicans voted in favor of the legislation, but the bill did once have strong bipartisan support. let's bring in the chief political correspondent, candy crowley, host of cnn's "state of the union" airing sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. eastern. what is the impact of the jobs bill or the small business tax break that passed today? >> well, it is another notch for democrats and another notch for the president, and they can say,

we did health care reform and the stimulus bill, and we did wall street reform, and we got tax cuts for small businesses, and the president has been fighting against the image he is anti-business, so it is a notch, but in practical terms, it is not going to take effect before the midterms. and people have pretty much made up their minds how they feel about the economy, and most of them think it is pretty bad. so it is not going to help in political terms, but is it going to help down the line and create those jobs that they talk about? well we will have to wait and see, because there are differing opinions as you know. >> when the president says it is bad right now, the economy, but it would be worse if the congress had not enacted the legislation that he proposed. is that a tough political sell? >> it is. it is. because you have on the one hand, you have the facts, these strong figures, unemployment 9.6, and the poverty rate now talking about not just in the rate, but in the sheer numbers of people in poverty, going up. you have all of these sort of

bad economic figures, and it is not a bumper sticker to go, it would have been worse if i had not acted. because people don't feel it. if they don't feel it, it is just hard to argue as right as it may or may not be, and as right -- but it is not something that sinks in so much as those other, you know, poverty figures and the unemployment figures and the people losing their homes. >> and explains the lack of enthusiasm for the president's supporters in the democratic party. candy will have more on "state of the union" sunday morning. more people may be living in poverty, but the money to give americans a needy safety net is running out. one agency says that it has two weeks left. the money distributed to lo low-income households with children can be used for cash grants and housing and food, and it funds a job program that could put 200,000 people back to work. as the u.s. winds down the military role in iraq, a stable government there becomes more

vital to security, but six months after iraq's election, there is still no new government in baghdad. the secular party, headed by the former interim prime minister won that vote by a thin margin. i sat down with him earlier in the week to talk about iraq's future. he says that he should be the next prime min steshgs and he hopes that the new government can be formed by the end of october, but he says if there is further delay, things could fall apart in iraq. are the odds stacked against a good outcome for the iraqi people? listen to this. >> reporter: you know that your neighbors, the iranians, the government of president ahmadinejad, that regime basically hates you, and doesn't want you to have any role in a future iraq. you understand that. i guess that the question is, how much influence do the iranians have in iraq right now? >> unfortunately, they do have a considerable influence.

they have more influence now than before, because of the drawdown of the american forces, and the position that the united states is in as the whole middle east, and definitely the iranians do not want to see a prime minister who could perform well, who could be an iraqi and not sectarian prime minister, and could go for peace in the government, but unfortunately, this is the case, but definitely we will prevail ultimately. >> the u.s. has withdrawn all but 50,000 troops from iraq, and the remaining 50,000 are to be out by the end of next year. how worried are you about the future of iraq without a u.s. military presence there? >> well, we are quite worried, because really, we have not been

able to develop a kind of regional understanding, and the regional security understanding, and this is sending problems, shivers throughout the region. we believe that unfortunately iran is trying to influence events in iraq, elsewhere in the region, also. we think that this is not the healthy sign. the functions of proving that there can be a security in the region not based on tensions but based on a economic and trade cooperation. i think that the remaining period of the american forces should be seen as a chance to develop a security in the region. i think that both the united

states and the united nations should take responsibility to see that such an agreement is being developed in the whole region. otherwise, really, the situation could be very dangerous in iraq as well as in the region. >> illegal drug use is on the rise here in the united states. it is the highest rate in a decade, and marijuana users are leading the way, we are told. we will find out what is behind the increase. and republicans in arizona are accused of pulling people off of the street to run as green party candidates. is it a scheme to pull votes away from democrats? plus, a high-speed chase ends caught on camera.

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your cut-rate insurance it ain't payin' for this. so get allstate. [ dennis ] dollar for dollar nobody protects you from mayhem like allstate. looks like the tornado warning in new york city has cleared at least for now. we have some reports of hail, and serious winds in brooklyn and maybe in queens, but looks like the worst is overwith which is good. back to jack for the cafferty file. >> well, in the wake of the tea party's primary successes, suddenly the game has changed. the marquee matchup going into november is in nevada, my home state. that is where the majority lead over the u.s. senate harry reid is trailing republican and tea party member sharron angle who is backed by many in the tea party. a new poll of likely voters in nevada shows that angle and reid are tied but, and this is a big but, but angle is leading on the

crucial independent voters in nevada by seven percentage points. a lot of otime and things could change, but sharron angle says controversial things like calls to phase out social security and medicare and eliminate the irs and the department of education and it does not matter, because just like in delaware, dit id not matter that tea partyier christine o'donnell has a history of financial problems, lots of them, and used the views on abstinence and other things to rule out masturbation. one reason that harry reid is in trouble is because he was president obama's water carrier on controversial legislation such as health care. most americans did not want it or at least the bill that eventually passed, but thanks to harry reid and nancy pelosi we got it anyway. if there is a single race in the country that will set up the tea party for a legitimate place for the stage in the great drama that is to be the presidential race of 2012, it is the defeat of the senate majority leader.

how will the democrats explain if harry reid loses to this woman? midterm elections are usually a bit of a yawn, but maybe not this one, and in fact, get your tickets early, because this year, my hunch is that this is going to quickly turn into standing room only. it is going to be good stuff. here is the question. what message would it send if senate majority leader harry reid loses to a member of the tea party? it would be like huge. go to cnn.com/cafferty file, and post a comment on my blog. >> it is a really, really close contest in nevada, if you read the polls, jack. >> well, they are tied, but she is ahead by seven points among the independents, and that means if the election was held today, she would win. >> and she is doing better among the likely voters as opposed to registered voters and the republicans have more likely voters, because think are much more enthusiastic. >> well, that is true and that is normal for those who are out of power to be sort of schompch

at the bit to go in at the midterm and throw them out. >> yes, jack. well, more americans are using illegal drugs or abusing prescription drugs. marijuana is at the heart of the increase. jeanne meserve is looking at the numbers for us. what are you seeing, jeanne? >> well, the drug use sup, but is that because the current problpro prob -- current policies don't work or because those policies make it look less harmful. according to a new government survey, usage of americans 12 and over rose from 8% in 2008 to 8.7% in 2009. with an upswing in the use of ecstasy and methamphetamines and particularly marijuana. among the teenagers, marijuana use jumped from 6.7% in 2008 to 7.3% in 2009. though it is still less than it was in 2002.

>> young heavy marijuana users are much more likely to report getting ds and fs than as and bs. are more likely to be in trouble with the law for crimes like theft. >> reporter: the survey shows a change in teens' attitudes toward using marijuana. >> marijuana has a low risk compared to other things, i'd say. >> reporter: like? >> well, alcohol for example. >> reporter: the nation's drug czar say fewer teens see marijuana as dangerous because of current media coverage of the policy debates. >> you cannot absolutely rule out this constant discussion of so-called medical marijuana and marijuana legalization and the downplaying of marijuana harms that is prevalent in the media -- >> reporter: with california voting in november on a ballot measure to legalize marijuana, that debate has picked up tempo. this week, former heads of the drug enforcement administration urged the obama administration to take a strong stand against

the measure, but supporters of legalized marijuana say that the survey numbers show that the failure of the current policy criminalizing marijuana. >> we need a regulated marijuana market. >> reporter: and that will lead to less teen use? >> it has for alcohol and tobacco. >> reporter: in fact, the use of alcohol and tobacco has stayed the same in the past year and the other trends of the abuse of prescription drugs is up, but the use of cocaine has declined 30% since 2006. wolf, back to you. >> all right. thank you very much for that jeanne. a gunman opens fire at one of the nation's top hospitals. we will give you a full report. more bad news for smokers in new york city. it is already against the law to light up in public places, indoors, and now the mayor wants to ban smoking outside as well. we will give you all of the details and the top stories coming up right here in "the situation room." ...because on our trips, i always get there faster. see, expedia lets me mix and match airlines.

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fredricka whitfield is monitoring the other top stories in "the situation room" right now. hi, fred. what is going on? >> hello, wolf. well, two people are dead and one wounded in what police are calling a murder-suicide at the johns hopkins medical center in

baltimore this afternoon. according to reports the gunman is identified as 50-year-old paul warren hartis killed his mother and wounded the doctor before turning the gun on himself. police originally erroneously identified the gunman as warren davis. >> mr. davis was receiving some news about the care and the condition of his mother. just outside of the doorway to that room, when he became emotionally distraught, and react ed to the news of his mother's condition. during the course of the conversation with the doctor, mr. davis removed a small semi automatic handgun from his waist area, waistband area and shot

the doctor in the lower chest, upper abdomen. >> the doctor did survive. >> and new york mayor wants to make one of the harshest smoke bans ever imposed. mayor bloomberg wants to propose a ban on smoking out doors. it would be at sites including central park, and coney island beach, and in all 1,700 city parks and 1,400 miles of public beaches would be covered. in 2003 new york city outdoored smoking in all of the city's restaurants and bars. in afghanistan now, where for the second time in less than a month, security forces hunting for taliban commanders have found one hiding in an oven. the latest incident involves the

taliban commander allegedly responsible for attacks in three districts in eastern afghanistan. in late august, a taliban commander in the country's southeast was found in an oven equipped with a breathing tube. and what would you do if you found a cobra inside of your toilet? well, according to reports from southern china, that is exactly what happened to some residents in a village where more than 16 of the deadly snake -- 160 of the deadly snakes escaped from an unlicensed breeding facility. a all but five of the snakes have been captured. i don't know what i would do except probably scream and make a beeline out thaf bathroom, wolf. >> i would run away as quickly as possible. >> me, too. i don't want to investigate what kind of snake. i don't care. i'm out. >> thank you, fred. >> all right. speaking of running, what about running for office? i do paranormal investigations and also spiritual healing and things of

that nature and i study reiki. >> are the republicans pulling people off of the street to pose as third-party candidates? they say it is a scheme to siphon votes away from the republicans. and cops allegedly try to hide what happened in a beating. and you heard the jump in the poverty numbers, and when, when can we expect a jump in the number of jobs being created? comes in a liquid gel. zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air®.

comes in a liquid gel. you hear what they're up to now? some in congress are getting squeezed by the special interests again. trying to delay action and give polluters free reign to keep dumping toxic pollution into the air. the air our children breathe. letting big oil lobbyists get their way again, and again, and again. it's a last-minute bill, written by special interests, looking for a payback. washington politicians need to get off the dime, and not let corporate polluters off the hook.

let's get back to the big story, the powerful new proof of just how much pain americans are feeling right now in this still-struggling economy. new figures showing that 43.6 million people are living below the poverty line last year. that is the highest number ever recorded in the united states, and it breaks down to 1 in every 7 americans. for the first time in two decades the number of americans without health care rose last year to 50.7 million. it has been two years now since the collapse on wall street. let's talk about all of this and more with new york times financial columnist andrew ross, and andrew sor kkin, and the paperback book "too big to fail" is now out. thanks for coming in. >> thanks for having me, wolf. >> when you say the short term n the next year or two, is there any significant improvement

expected as far as jobs or the economy is concerned? >> i think that there is, and that is the good news. the bad news is that it won't feel that way for a good long time. to put it in perspective, for us to get back to the go-go years, the 2007 years, fwheed we need create 11 million jobs. that is a huge number. and to put that in perspective to get close to that over three years, you have to generate 400,000 jobs a month, and we are so far from that, so to, the extents it feels like a rez i can't tell you it will be feeling better next year or the year after, but slowly, we will have upticks. but we were so overextended to begin with. if you consider the 2000 levels were artificial, it puts it in perspective in terms of how far we have to go. >> this fight of extending the bush era tax cuts for the middle-class, and the wealthy and the extremely wealthy, and how will that play out in terms of the economy? >> well, you know, i think that

for the middle-class, clearly, the tax cut is very, very important, and actually, in most parts of the country, i think that you could probably get away with the tax, repealing the tax cut for the wealthiest people, but the problem is actually in the big cities, the new yorks and the d.c.s and the bostons and san francisco where $250,000 as huge a number as that sounds doesn't go as far as you would think, and the worry is that some of those families would spend less. so do you take the peter orszag approach and say to extend it out two more years and deal with it then, or the problem is if the economy is not better, there is no political impetus to get the taxes back in ordzer in the way you want to in two years. >> when the government says that 46 million people in the country are living in poverty, and 40 million living on food stamps that the government provide, i don't see that number going down

any time soon, do you? >> well, it is very, very hard and when you think about the stimulus plan and the infrastructure plan, and the government will spend $50 billion on infrastructure, that will go somewhere to put people back to work and those are somewhat if you want to call them shovel-ready job, because so many of the infrastructure job, and the value, and by the way, every dollar in infrastruck schur they get $1.57 out which is better than the original stimulus plan, but the problem is that these programs, if you build trains, it may take another 12 to 18 months before they put the shovels in ground. so that, that's the challenge that we face. >> and the president is ready tonight to go a democratic fund raiser in greenwich, connecticut, with some of to so-called fat-catsup poertss out there, be you wrote a powerful piece of why wall street is deserting obama, and many fundraisers thinking he is

antibusiness, and abandoning him. what is going on? >> well, this is more psychological than policy. most of the wall street folks who are democrats who supported him the first time around, they realized that the taxes were likely to go up, and financial regulation would get tougher. i don't think that is what is bugging them so much, but it is the villainization issue and they are somehow all criminals and painted with this brush. for a industry with a lot of egos in it, it is very tough to hear that over and over again. >> you seeing any shift in the white house strategy? is the president going to calm down as far as the rhetoric is concerned? >> well, i think that he is still believing that he is getting political points for it in the rest of america, but i'm not sure he is pulling back. but he is trying to extend the olive branchs to wall street and small businesses giving the tax breaks they are putting into effect. but in terms of the fat-cats, i am not sure that he will win them back so quickly.

>> the book is "too big to fail" by andrew ross sorkin. thank you. >> thank you, wolf. an activist is supposedly recruiting people off of the streets to be on the ballot. >> he came to me and said, you can do it. i said, cool, where? he pointed us in the right direction and we took off with it. >> and we will hear why democrats say it is a scam to take votes away from them. and also, videotape of a brutal police beating, but why did it take two weeks for the public to see it? stay with us. you are in "the situation room." c [panting]

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republicans in arizona are accused of helping homeless people to get on the ballot as green party candidates, allegedly in an effort to take votes away from democrats. cnn's ted rowlands is looking into the story. >> certificate of nomination, secretary of state of arizona. >> reporter: anthony grandpa goshhorn shows off the certificate to declare him the green party nominee in tempe, arizona. grandpa has no political experience at all. he says he drives a taxi and has

done some jail time and was homeless until six months ago. 27-year-old thomas meadows is running for state treasurer. his experience includes -- >> i actually do paranormal investigations, and also spiritual healing and things of that nature. i also study reiki. >> reporter: these are two of the candidates in arizona that democrats say are a sham and recruited by republicans to run for the green party. >> democrats say that republicans are doing this because they know if you add a green party candidate to the ballot in any election, it will usually take away votes to the democrats. >> yes, that is exactly what happens there. are certain voters who go to the poll and if given a choice between legitimate green candidate or democrat candidate will go to the green. >> they are saying that our voters are so stupid that if there is a choice on the ballot, we will lose. >> reporter: republican steve may says he helps thomas and grandpa to run, and he says it was all done fair and square.

>> in arizona the rule for a write-in candidate is that you need one vote to run. >> he said i could do it and i said cool, and how do i do it? he pointed eed me in the right direction, and i said, where, and let's do it. >> reporter: he said he simply wants people to have a voice, and to steal votes is a bonus. these women did not buy it. >> it is is the scheme that angers us, and everybody sees it. it is a game. >> you came across people who had no intention of running for office, and you have helped them run for office, and you have changed their party and created an avenue for them to run for office and aren't you gaming the system and making a mockery of it. >> no, it is showing america how it works. >> do you want them to be the leaders of the state? >> i want them on the ballot in my state. >> would you vote for them? >> well, grandpa thinks he has a chance of winning.you don't kno

doing? >> well, did that stop anybody? well, the democrats are worried of us taking votes from them, well, we are stealing votes from the republicans, and they, the people, are tired and ready for something new. >> reporter: well, people went to federal court the try to get these people off of the ballots, and they lost in both venues, so the election is moving within the green candidates on the ballot. we should note that of the 11, four of them have dropped out of the races over the last week. >> got some publicity for grandpa and maybe he will get a few votes out there. >> you talk to him, and he starts to make sense. >> thanks very much. a disturbing videotape surfacing of a police beating in dallas. there is more. wait until you hear what the officers were caught on tape saying just before they got a hold of the suspect.

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a warning about the next story. some viewers may find some of the images we are about to air disturbing. the chief of police in dallas, texas, is appealing for calm after a videotape is released showing officers beating a suspect after a high-speed chase. it is sparking outrage and raising serious questions about why it took nearly two weeks for it to become public. cnn's ed lavandara is joining was the latest. ed? >> wolf, the dallas police beating captured on tape happened on september 5th. it came to light because someone left an anonymous note urging dallas police superiors to take a closer look at the dash cam

video, and this is what they saw. >> reporter: when the dash cam video first spotted andrew collins, he is riding his bicycle on a sidewalk. the two officers start to chase him, even though they were ordered by a superior officer on the radio not to. collins speeds off and at times reaching 60 miles an hour, but along the way, the camera picks up a disturbing threat from one of the officers in the car. >> someone in the car with randolph and bauer, either one, says, "keep us going. i'm going to kick the -- expletive -- out of him." >> reporter: the chase lasted more than two minutes. collins getting off of the motorcycle and appears to start getting down on his knees to surrender when the beating begins. officer randolph hits collins five times with the baton. he has been fired.

officer bauer punches collins twice, and he has been placed on administrative leave. a third officer is also on leave after police say he moved the dashboard video camera to obscure what was happening at the scene. all three are facing criminal charges. another three o officers are beg investigated and put on restrictive duty. and the police chief says that the behavior is unacceptable. >> i expect the citizens to hold me accountable to ensure that dallas police officers treat all citizens with fairness and compassion. no one is above the law. of this great country. >> reporter: collins suffered bruising and developed blood clots. >> reporter: can you tell me how you are feeling? >> very sore. >> reporter: can you tell me about yourself, just about you? >> no. >> reporter: what you are going through right now and psychologically? >> it is not good.

it is not good right now. >> reporter: all of the officers are white, but dallas' police chief says that the beating does not appear racially motivated, but he believes that inexperience is the issue. all officers involved have been on the force for less than three year, but once again, the actions of a few officers threatens the trust of minority citizens, says collins' pastor. >> these officers made some poor choice, bad choices, and at those choices, the entire police department is going to end up suffering for it. >> we have made repeated attempts to reach officer randolph's attorney, and he has not responded, but we did talk to officer bauer's attorney, and he is the officer seen punching in the video, but he says that the actions of both officers should be viewed separately, and he said that bauer acted reasonably in getting the man handcuffed. >> that story is not going to go

away. and what does it say if the speak over the house is over taken by a member of the tea party. and she is a darling for the tea party, but hear what she once said about teens. jeanne is here with the report. . great news! for people with copd, including chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both, advair helps significantly improve lung function. while nothing can reverse copd, advair is different from most other copd medications because it contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help you breathe better. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair.

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let's get right back to jack for "the cafferty file." >> what message will it send if senate majority harry reid loses to the tea party? jeff writes "it will mean the american people have had enough. reid is the poster child for a failed government." cody in indiana "the message would be the american public wants change, and that they believe in giving new people a shot at helping our country turn around. i mean, she really couldn't do as much damage in a single six-year term in the senate as

harry reid has done in 24 years. it's all about change, jack." colleen writes "if i was voting in nevada i would be voting against reid, not for the tea party. the tea party candidate is weak but not as pathetic as reid." jan in california "it proves what the rest of the world thinks of us, a bunch of uneducated dummies who can vote." joan says what do you mean what if reid loses? he's going down the drain november the 2nd and good riddance. ralph writes "all the king's horses and all the king's men said i am mad as hell. we're not going to take this any more, we're going to have a tea party." james in north carolina "similar to the cell phone commercial "can you hear me now?" in order for the democrats to keep pushing forward the massive spending programs they need to take the boat away from the common folks or else get booted out of office." ken in california "the

electorate in nevada could be persuaded to vote for lady gaga." go to my blog, cnn.com/caffertyfile. >> race in your home state, nevada. >> it is my home state. >> that's quite a contest. the candidates supported by the tea party movement in nevada, utah, alaska, kentucky, delaware, florida now, if they all get elected or most they have a tea party caucus in the united states senate. >> wouldn't that be refreshing for a change. i hope they all win and i hope all the incumbents on the balance lots get voted out. we're in big trouble in this country and no, they might not be the answer to all the problems, but the status quo sure as hell isn't get using anywhere now. >> they certainly have a lot of support out there, this is not just a passing phenomenon. i think it will go on. >> the thing in delaware brought the message home that people are ready to try something different, even if it doesn't make a lot -- even if it's like a woman who goes to an awards

show with a piece of meat on her head. >> lady gaga, thanks very much, see you, jack. >> good luck. the new tea party favorite, christine o'donnell comes face to face with her democratic opponent chris coons at a candidate forum in delaware. john king standing by to show you what's going on and her rise is leaving pundits to say move over sarah palin. jeanne moos has a most unusual report that's coming up next, right here in "the situation room." >> and the election is only seven months away! [ drums playing ] [ male announcer ] 306 horsepower. race-inspired paddle shifters. and f-sport-tuned suspension. all available on the new 2011 lexus is. it isn't real performance unless it's wielded with precision.

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let's take a look at hot shots near the iraq border and turkey. turkish soldiers carry out a controlled blast on an explosive device. eastern germany a man attaches life size animal sculptures to the side of a house as part of an art project. hikers humity to the top of a mountain for the 2018 olympics. west pen gallon, india, an elephant crosses a railroad track. hot shots, pictures worth a thousand words. you don't often find politicians talking about lust and what teenagers do when they're alone in their bedrooms. jeanne moos reports on most unusual comments from a new favorite of the tea party movement. >> reporter: get the kitties out of the room. most of america never even heard of christine o'donnell but now the first thing they hear is her using the "m" word from an mtv show 14 years ago.

>> the bible says that lust in your heart is committing adultery, so you can't masturbate without lust. >> oh, really? and how do you know that exactly? have you been privately lusting? >> reporter: as if it weren't enough that everyone's comparing her to you know who. >> give her bangs and a pair of rimmed glasses and she'd be a dead ringer. oh, my god, no! >> the tea party has a younger model, watch out, sarah. >> reporter: as if it weren't enough even a staunch republican is dissing her. >> there are a lot of nutty things she's been saying. >> everything that he's saying is unfactual. >> reporter: the fact is our first impression of her is from an ancient show about teens and sex. >> and if he already knows what pleases him and he can please himself, then why am i in the picture? >> reporter: it's enough to make an anchor wish she could get out of the picture. >> all righty then. >> reporter: we haven't heard this much discussion of that

since joycelyn elders, the surgeon general got fired by president clinton. >> in regard to masturbation. >> reporter: just for saying maybe it should be part of a child's education. we in the news media won't even say the word. >> you know what-ing while they were alone. warning kids not to get busy with themselves. >> reporter: we leave actually saying it to our most outspoken pundits. >> in terms of getting in the bedroom she's run against masturbati masturbation. >> reporter: and comedians. >> the same way bristol palin opposes premarital sex. >> reporter: in response to the hooplaof the sex talk 14 years ago she told nbc news. >> i'm in my 40s and matured in a lot of my positions. >> reporter: we haven't, faced with equated the "m" word with adultery, steven kohl bare came out with a solution. >> simply m